Welcome to Bimmerfest -- The #1 Online Community for BMW related information! Please enjoy the discussion forums below and share your experiences with the 200,000 current, new and past BMW owners. The forums are broken out by car model and into other special interest sections such as BMW European Delivery and a special forum to voice your questions to the many BMW dealers on the site to assist our members!

E90/E91/E92/E93 (2006 - 2013) The E9X is the 4th evolution of the BMW 3 series including a highly tuned twin turbo 335i variant pushing out 300hp and 300 ft. lbs. of torque. BMW continues to show that it sets the bar for true driving performance! -- View the E9X Wiki

Any experience in getting BMW USA to honor it? I've had issues for 3 weeks (trying to get sensors active for a SMOG test). SMOG place couldn't get sensors to come on, and during the process the car started overheating. take it to BMW and they say water pump failed and its $1500. CPO warranty expired 2 weeks ago They offered a discount off the work but any experience with BMW corporate on these types of things?

Have you taken your car in for service at the dealer before? If so I would ask the dealership (service manager) for a good will repair. The offer to help with a discount is a good offer for your car being out of CPO...

I've been there for SOME servicing, but mostly covered under the maintenance warranty which I assume they get paid by BMW anyway. They offered 20% discount off the fee ($1500 down to $1300) for the water pump. I just don't see them budging much more but want to continue to try.

Any experience in getting BMW USA to honor it? I've had issues for 3 weeks (trying to get sensors active for a SMOG test). SMOG place couldn't get sensors to come on, and during the process the car started overheating. take it to BMW and they say water pump failed and its $1500. CPO warranty expired 2 weeks ago They offered a discount off the work but any experience with BMW corporate on these types of things?

I've been there for SOME servicing, but mostly covered under the maintenance warranty which I assume they get paid by BMW anyway. They offered 20% discount off the fee ($1500 down to $1300) for the water pump. I just don't see them budging much more but want to continue to try.

My vanos solenoid failed at 25,000km and 1 month out of warranty I complained to BMW CEO in aust and got 20% off in repair cost

you see the arguments about leasing vs buying, well, i think with the case of BMW, they make that decision easy for you, when the cars fall apart after 5 years. they are engineered for performance not necessarily longevity.

I'm not skilled enough for that. If I'd known it was the pump I would have taken it to an independent, but as there was another issue with it that was computer related wanted them to look at both issues.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris328

you see the arguments about leasing vs buying, well, i think with the case of BMW, they make that decision easy for you, when the cars fall apart after 5 years. they are engineered for performance not necessarily longevity.

Any experience in getting BMW USA to honor it? I've had issues for 3 weeks (trying to get sensors active for a SMOG test). SMOG place couldn't get sensors to come on, and during the process the car started overheating. take it to BMW and they say water pump failed and its $1500. CPO warranty expired 2 weeks ago They offered a discount off the work but any experience with BMW corporate on these types of things?

There's nothing for BMW to honor as there is no warranty on the vehicle any longer. I would however ask the dealership if BMW would perform a goodwill repair. It sounds as if the dealer is offering to help but see if they can get BMW involved as well. I had a partial goodwill repair performed on my X5. The dealer picked up 1/3, BMW another 1/3, and I the final 1/3. And I didn't buy the vehicle at the dealer (nor was I the original owner). I may have received the goodwill repair due to the low mileage. How many miles do you have on the car?

There's nothing for BMW to honor as there is no warranty on the vehicle any longer. I would however ask the dealership if BMW would perform a goodwill repair. It sounds as if the dealer is offering to help but see if they can get BMW involved as well. I had a partial goodwill repair performed on my X5. The dealer picked up 1/3, BMW another 1/3, and I the final 1/3. And I didn't buy the vehicle at the dealer (nor was I the original owner). I may have received the goodwill repair due to the low mileage. How many miles do you have on the car?

Next hard top convertible I buy will be a Lexus too. Or I won't buy one.... Glad I got a 6 year 75k mile extended warranty. If BMW is not careful the resell value on used BMW just out of warranty will be in the gutter. Then the used bmw buyer will buy it cheap dyi repairs and junk it if the dyi cant fix it. And it will happen

Next hard top convertible I buy will be a Lexus too. Or I won't buy one.... Glad I got a 6 year 75k mile extended warranty. If BMW is not careful the resell value on used BMW just out of warranty will be in the gutter. Then the used bmw buyer will buy it cheap dyi repairs and junk it if the dyi cant fix it. And it will happen

Next hard top convertible I buy will be a Lexus too. Or I won't buy one.... Glad I got a 6 year 75k mile extended warranty. If BMW is not careful the resell value on used BMW just out of warranty will be in the gutter. Then the used bmw buyer will buy it cheap dyi repairs and junk it if the dyi cant fix it. And it will happen

Electric water pumps only look good on paper, in reality, they are an expensive "maintenance" item compared to a mechanical pump, even if Stewart made one for these models.

Compared to previous mechanical pump by BMW they seem to last a little longer. I have numerous friends who had E46 machines and the water pumps came apart around 60k miles. Don't get me wrong, it is still a weak point. Knock on wood, my 335i has 88k miles and no problems yet.

I have a feeling, the next gen electric WP will be better and last longer. Just like the old BMW WP where the impeller were plastic and come off from the shaft (the shaft spinning but the impeller stay static, thus no coolant pressure).
The problem alot of times, this electric WP shows no sign of failure, else owner can look into that telltale sign.

If I were BMW the major concern is how lately BMW models have begin to look like LExus in driving experience (being bigger, heavier with that notorious numb electric steering). No one will put up with Lexus feel and BMW reliability period.

Compared to previous mechanical pump by BMW they seem to last a little longer. I have numerous friends who had E46 machines and the water pumps came apart around 60k miles. Don't get me wrong, it is still a weak point. Knock on wood, my 335i has 88k miles and no problems yet.

Perhaps true, but there was a high performance alternative that was a fraction of the cost of an OEM electric pump.

Next hard top convertible I buy will be a Lexus too. Or I won't buy one.... Glad I got a 6 year 75k mile extended warranty. If BMW is not careful the resell value on used BMW just out of warranty will be in the gutter. Then the used bmw buyer will buy it cheap dyi repairs and junk it if the dyi cant fix it. And it will happen

I thought no extended warranties covered the covertible top? I thought I remembered reading that on here from other hardtop owners.

Why can't you take your car to an indy?
You never said why before.
I will save you some money for sure.

BMW and for that matter Toyota's too have water pumps that last around 50-90K miles.
The new electric ones seem to run the variable miles depending on conditions since some have reported corrison on the electrical terminals and cracks on the phenolic housing the pump runs in.
Others get significant miles out of them, just can't tell.

Strong suggestion is to find a good BMW indy and establish a relationship since you are not a DIY person.

Remember this is a forum where people come to learn and primarily try to get solutions to problems and some also piss and moan about issues. This isn't the norm for BMW or years ago they would have been out of business. I have owned well over 20 BMWs and have exactly one, repeat one water pump fail. That was in a highly modified non stock SC 325 that regularly had diet of 7000 rpms. When it did fail I knew it, flat bed to my garage replaced the pump out of service about 2 days cost was 40 bucks.

Think BMWs don't last?
My last BMW I sold is running just fine at 284K miles and this is an E36 M3 original engine.
Good luck with whatever solution you come up with and please post the outcome so we can all learn how this goes for you.

420-550 bucks depending where you buy it is pretty expensive for a waterpump but consider this the engine needs the most cooling when car is in stop and go traffic where a mechanical pump can't deliever it. I can see why BMW did this and it is going to be showing up in other manufactures also in the future...

The reason for electric WP is fuel economy. Same with alternator clutch that disengage when batt condition is considered good, thus creating batt undercharge for many who don't drive long distance.

All of these unheard off until fuel cost sky-rocket and feds impose tax/penalty on car mfg when their fleet avg doesn't meet requirements.

Latest BMW feature is shutting off engine (on non hybrid) at stop, then when you switch your right foot from brake to gas, the engine starts again. Sounds like alot of work implementing this feature (especially considering safety on situation of turning left to cross oncoming traffic) but emission and fuel saving dictates at the end.

The reason for electric WP is fuel economy. Same with alternator clutch that disengage when batt condition is considered good, thus creating batt undercharge for many who don't drive long distance.

All of these unheard off until fuel cost sky-rocket and feds impose tax/penalty on car mfg when their fleet avg doesn't meet requirements.

Latest BMW feature is shutting off engine (on non hybrid) at stop, then when you switch your right foot from brake to gas, the engine starts again. Sounds like alot of work implementing this feature (especially considering safety on situation of turning left to cross oncoming traffic) but emission and fuel saving dictates at the end.

The reason for electric WP is fuel economy. Same with alternator clutch that disengage when batt condition is considered good, thus creating batt undercharge for many who don't drive long distance.

All of these unheard off until fuel cost sky-rocket and feds impose tax/penalty on car mfg when their fleet avg doesn't meet requirements.

Latest BMW feature is shutting off engine (on non hybrid) at stop, then when you switch your right foot from brake to gas, the engine starts again. Sounds like alot of work implementing this feature (especially considering safety on situation of turning left to cross oncoming traffic) but emission and fuel saving dictates at the end.

The electric water pump is for much more than fuel economy. It is for emissions by providing very fast warm up. For performance by regulating cylinder head temp based on how you are driving the car and for turbo life by cooling down the turbos after engine shutdown.

As far as the alternator clutch disengaging, it has nothing to do with battery condition. It is a completely mechanical device with no electronic elements. It absorbs shocks in the belt and tensioner system and when the rpms drop suddenly it allows the the alternator to overrun or "freewheel" as it slows down. The alternator electronics themselves and DME regulate the load the alternator puts on the engine based on battery condition and system loads.